Types of Electrical Drawings

Written by kyla chele cambrooke| 13/05/2017

Some electrical drawings tell you the exact location of a component. (Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images)

Electricians and engineers who work with electrical and electronic applications need to understand how to interpret electrical drawings. Electrical drawings are sometimes referred to as electrical diagrams or schematics. Understanding electrical diagrams can help electricians, engineers and even non-professional workers find particular parts of a system, identify components, follow a circuit, correct problems with a system or troubleshoot equipment.

Isometric Drawings

An isometric drawing helps you find a particular part of an electrical system. This type of drawing displays the manner in which the cable or wires connect for a unit or system. For example, an isometric drawing may present an outline of a vehicle, boat, helicopter or other machinery; inside the main outline sits outlines of other important parts of the machinery.

Pictorial Drawings

Most people can read a pictorial drawing since it simply illustrates exactly how the electrical system should appear. A pictorial drawing displays an image, sketch or actual picture of a variety components and wiring of a system. You can immediately identify the electrical system even if you are not familiar with the location. Additionally, this type of drawing shows labelled wires, how the wires route through a system and displays how the parts connect in a sequence.

Block Drawings

A block drawing usually works in conjunction with a textbook. People may use a block drawing to show a basic description of a unit and the unit's functions. This type of drawing illustrates the main parts and shows way the parts connect. Each part appears in a block format that has marks for identification purpose.

Single Line Drawings

Single line drawings are similar to block drawings in that they provide a general understanding of the function of the parts of a unit in conjunction with the textbook. However, a single line drawing shows symbols to denote components. In addition, all of the parts of the unit appear in a single line format. It does not show how the parts connect to other parts. This type of drawing is ideal for people learning about particular electrical systems.